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Sports

A's top celebrating Tigers

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Oakland, CA – Gio Gonzalez threw seven innings of one-run 3 win over the Detroit Tigers in the game set.

The Tigers were playing the game with a victory hangover as the team clinched the AL Central title on Friday night with a 3-1 win. It is Detroit's first division crown since winning the AL East in 1987 and its first appearance in the playoffs since 2006 as a wild card.

Coco Crisp drove in two runs while Jemile Weeks had three hits and an RBI for the Athletics, who had lost three of four coming into the game. Gonzalez (14-12) gave up eight hits and two walks with four strikeouts to win his second straight start.

"He really believes he can hit anybody," said Oakland manager Bob Melvin about Weeks. "He thinks he's going to get a hit every time he's up and he's a fighter so he does a lot of the time."

Don Kelly hit a two-run double while Jhonny Peralta drove in the other run for the Tigers, who fell to 13-3 in September. Rick Porcello (14-9) went seven innings and was tagged for three runs on nine hits to take the loss.

"I knew I had to start today regardless of what happened last night," said Porcello. "We still have games to win out here and we can't let up just because we won the division."

The A's got on the board in the second on RBI singles from Scott Sizemore and Crisp for a 2-0 lead and added another run in the third on a sacrifice fly from Kurt Suzuki.

Detroit had men on base in each inning except for the second, but were unable to put a run across until the sixth when Peralta lofted a sacrifice fly that scored Magglio Ordonez to make it a 3-1 game.

Weeks and Crisp added RBI singles in the eighth while Kelly nailed a pinch- hit, two-run double in the ninth to make it a two-run game and put the tying run at the plate with one out.

Andrew Bailey, though, struck out pinch-hitter Alex Avila and Austin Jackson to end the game.

Game Notes

Oakland has won five of the nine games with Detroit this season...Porcello had won his previous three decisions. He fell to 2-4 in seven starts against the Athletics...Gonzalez is now 1-3 in five starts against Detroit.